Updated: Parking solution for West 7th Street shortage found — for now

Don’t get towed from the West 7th parking garages

A new parking policy went into effect in April. 10-30 cars are being towed per weekend.

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A new parking policy went into effect in April. 10-30 cars are being towed per weekend.

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FORT WORTH

Weekend parking for the popular Crockett Row bars and restaurants is getting easier — at least for the time being.

Starting Oct. 5, patrons will be able to park at Farrington Field from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The West 7th Restaurant & Bar Association is leasing the lot from the Fort Worth school district for a three-month trial period.

Parking will cost $10 a car, said Max Holderby, Crockett Row’s general manager.

Holderby said the group would have liked to start making parking available earlier in the evening but couldn’t because of school district commitments at the athletic field.

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This should alleviate a parking shortage that has plagued the West Seventh Street corridor for the past several months. Crockett Row has five parking garages that hold about 1,550 cars. On weekends, however, nearly 4,000 cars are going in and out. Crockett Row has been towing the vehicles of those who are not shopping, dining and drinking at Crockett Row tenant spots.

The plan evolved from meetings of an informal group of 29 property and business owners and neighborhood and city leaders that started May after crime started rising as did complaints about cars being towed.

“It’s a good solution,” Holderby said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

The lease, which begins Sunday, runs through Jan. 6. At that time, the program will be looked at to see how its working, according to a city report.

Fernando Costa, an assistant city manager, told the council Tuesday the lease was shortened because the lot is used in January for parking the Stock Show at the Will Rogers. And, in February, construction is expected to begin on the extension of Trail Drive from University Drive to Lancaster Avenue, which will go through the parking lot, he said.

The city has installed painted crosswalks at six high-volume pedestrian intersections and by October will install a designated pedestrian crossing at Lancaster Avenue and Currie Street.

Studies will be done looking into creating pedestrian-only corridors during peak hours, designating one-way streets during peaks hours and installing parking meters in the core area, the report said.

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